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Species Spotlight: Narwhal
It comes to us with many names. Narwhal is Old Norse for "corpselike" and refers to this Arctic whale's mottled black-and-white skin. Linnaeus named it Monodon monoceros, Latin for "one tooth, one horn." And the Inuit called it Qilalugaq qernartaq, which translates to "the one that points to the sky," referring to the way its tusk sometimes points straight up out of the water.
Believed to be the inspiration for the myth of the unicorn, the narwhal's single spiraled tusk is actually the left front tooth of the male, which erupts through the upper lip and can grow up to nine feet long.
Narwhals are still hunted, and they face challenges from offshore oil- and gas-drilling and pollution. But their latest threat may be the most dangerous: global warming. Evolved to live in ice-covered seas, narwhals eat mostly Greenland halibut. But these fish are now at risk as ocean temperatures warm, currents change and their own food sources shift. Further, as the ice melts, the narwhal's main predators—orcas—may find them easier prey.
Today an estimated 70,000 narwhals remain. Will we do something to help them survive? Or will future generations wonder if the narwhal itself was just a myth?
Learn more about threats to whales.
